Dances with Blue Aliens and Snorelock Holmes

[Grey]

Over the last week I wound up seeing two films at the theater. It should be apparent from the title of this thread I was less than thrilled about either by the time the credits rolled. Here is as much of a spoiler-free rundown I can write:

Avatar - For some reason people generally seem to regard anything James Cameron touches as gold. I think time will only tell, but if I were to make a prediction I'd say Avatar winds up in the bargain bin alongside the Dark Angel series. Cut an hour or so from Dances with Wolves, replace Kevin Costner with a CGI alien, and the Indians with more CGI aliens, and you've got one over-hyped, incredibly obvious film about mankind being wrong (again) and everything else (to include trees) being right. I think the only touchy-feely environmentalist dead horse left out was global warming. Every intended plot twist was so clearly indicated beforehand that there might as well have been a flashing arrow pointing at it on-screen. In a nutshell, everything man does is inherently evil, everything man touches he destroys, and only by uniting the various blue alien tribes through the power of a technicolor flying reptile can their bows and arrows stand a chance of driving the hairless ape and his technology back into space. A computer-generated three dimensional setting, coupled with a two dimensional plot, with one dimensional characters and dialogue.

Sherlock Holmes - For some reason this was a better picture, possibly because I saw it after Avatar and it at shook the feeling of ending 2009 with a lousy film. Its not good, but its not terrible. Perhaps its the intended audience, and the shortness of their attention span, as to why every clue in the film was either ridiculously obvious (I think the flashing arrows could've been used here as well) or so obtuse and vague that it was saved for the end of the film, where our intrepid hero points it out almost in passing as the springboard is set to launch the viewer into the upcoming sequel. In short, take a mystery film and wring every drop of mystery out of it until its completely dry.

And I guess that's about it. oO Have a good new year and I hope all of you are looking as forward to the upcoming tax increases as I am.

[Gregory]

Was the new sherlok holmes movie supposed to be a mystery movie? From the trailer I figured it for a spoof movie. I'm thinking by your review I should watch it with that expectation to truely enjoy it.

[Moon Princess]

I was going for the supposed new technology for cg in this movie, but I don't see anything that I've not seen before. The plot was given away before the movie even premiered, but we spoke of this already. The plot has been done before. In fact the whole idea for the movie was likely taken for a certain collection of short stories by Poul Anderson. I fear what he'll do to the great lil manga Battle Angel Alita he's planning on doing now. >_<

So you did see Sherlock Holmes. They had to make the clues easy for the general populations IQ so they feel smart...then cover that up with those vague ones at the end so people don't feel too smart. :þ Doesn't beat those old black and white movies of Sherlock Holmes that were actually mysteries. Maybe Sherlock Holmes was better cause they attempted to not give the whole plot away so easily. Avatar was given away in promotion, so this movie may not of been a real mystery movie, but the plot wasn't out there before you even saw it. It has period outfits which is a plus for me...thought I notice some gothic and steampunk influences in some of them from the trailer.

Don't think we've begun to see full scope of new taxes yet nor has the government finished expanding, but it never seems to. O.o''

Good New Year indeed, My Devious One. ^_~

[Grey]

Was the new sherlok holmes movie supposed to be a mystery movie? From the trailer I figured it for a spoof movie. I'm thinking by your review I should watch it with that expectation to truely enjoy it.

It wasn't a parody film at all, Betters. I was also under the impression of Sherlock Holmes and mystery going hand in hand.

They had to make the clues easy for the general populations IQ so they feel smart...then cover that up with those vague ones at the end so people don't feel too smart. :þ Doesn't beat those old black and white movies of Sherlock Holmes that were actually mysteries. Maybe Sherlock Holmes was better cause they attempted to not give the whole plot away so easily.

It was more like they were such a stretch that the only way to work the reveal in was to outright tell the audience. I do like the old Holmes series. Both Basil Rathbone and Peter Cushing did a good job with the character if you ask me. Robert Downey Jr. didn't do that bad with it, there was just nothing inherently Sherlock Holmes about either his portrayal nor the film in general.

Don't think we've begun to see full scope of new taxes yet nor has the government finished expanding, but it never seems to. O.o''

To quote the harpy Pelosi, "That wasn’t a tax increase. It is- it is- eliminating a tax- decrease that was there." Well that certainly makes me feel better about the whole thing already.

[Moon Princess]

So they called it Sherlock Holmes for name recognition only to bring in an audience? The movie and characters could of been called any random name and it wouldn't of made a difference. I liked The Hound of the Baskervilles with Basil Rathbone in 1939 a lil better than Peter Crushing's version in 1959.

To quote the harpy Pelosi, "That wasn’t a tax increase. It is- it is- eliminating a tax- decrease that was there." Well that certainly makes me feel better about the whole thing already.

That's a nice way of putting it. ¬_¬ It's as comforting as the line "A bad bill is better than no bill at all."

[Grey]

Well the characters, setting, etc. all were Sherlock Holmes, but no concrete references to previous cases. Without giving away anything in regards to the plot or the primary antagonist, overall it leaves one with the impression this film is merely providing the backdrop for a potential series of movies. Or as I said, at the very least, a sequel. I was curious if the film makers would go with either a "making of" or a "after the novels" version of the character, and this falls entirely in the former category.

Ah yes, the shell game that is modern (coughglobalistcough) politics. Health care for free (except those that actually work) for all (except those that actually work), cap-in-trade (tax-and-kill), Climategate (don't deny it, simply carry on as if it never happened), Republican war bad, Democrat war good... the meeting at Copenhagen illustrates my point in many ways. The global community wants a weaker United States of America. Democracy and the free market brings prosperity and advancements in society that are clearly the envy of the world if said world wants it gone so bad. Green is the new Red. Another Moslem attempts to blow up another commercial aircraft not three days ago, yet American soldiers are following rules of engagement that essentially boil down to "don't engage." History is crowded with good intentions and the destruction left in their wake. I wonder if you asked a fifth century Roman citizen if he thought the world he knew would be gone by the end of the next generation. I'm not saying the end is nigh and 2010 is 1984, but nothing crafted by man's hand is infinite. To quote Oliver Reed, "We mortals are but shadows and dust."

Wow, where did that rant come from?

[Moon Princess]

So a re-visioning of of Sherlock Holmes with a new story. I got it.

It was a good rant. :þ

Now you've interjected a better movie...Gladiator. That is the standout line from the movie. You picked the best historical reference for comparison in Rome.

The government agencies with their lovely acronyms still don't communicate with each other. So now they put people who fly through more restrictions cause the government doesn't want to say they could of prevented that guy from getting on the plane. There's been no consolidation of the government and I don't count so many agencies being put under homeland security as consolidation. All that did was thicken the red tape. Government is suppose to do things equal for all citizens. Now politicians stay in office by getting the best deal for their constituents which is very evident in how the senate version of the health care bill was passed.

One of the simplest examples of government not changing and agencies out for themselves is the US Postal Service. Don't tell me the usps didn't think back in the late 90's when the internet started to take hold that the volume of mail would decrease over the next 10 years. They did nothing to consolidate and over the past ten years continuously increase the price of stamps. They will say it's because there are more addresses to deliver to, but I'm just not buying that. Now they want to cut Saturday delivery.

Just like in Rome and all other civilizations, either it will change by the will of the people or implode and start all over. I just wish more knowledge and enlightenment would pass on instead of being forgotten again and again and again ad infinitum.